Wiring device



June 1, 1965 J. PARsroRFER WIRING DEVICE Filed June 10. 1963 Z MIN wp xv..

United States Patent O adsense WIRING DEVICE John Parstorfer, Philadelphia, lla., assigner to Philco Cerporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed .lune 10, 1963, Ser. No. 286,741 2 Claims. (Cl. 8in-3) The present invention relates to wiring devices and more particularly to tools for connecting conductor wire between terminals of electrical components assembled on mounting units.

The advent of equipment employing compact modules each containing several miniaturized components with closely adjacent terminals, has given rise to difficulties and problems in applying and attaching conductor wire to such terminals to effect electrical connections therebetween. In wiring assemblies of the above mentioned variety it has been customary to employ pliers and tweezers to hold a length of conductor wire and to fasten it to the appropriate terminals. Because of the closeness of the terminals, the handling of the wire with pliers and tweezers has proved to be an irksome and tedious operation, and frequently results in subjecting the terminals, as well as the conductor wire, to damaging bending and twisting stresses.

It is a primary object of this invention to overcome the above indicated d'culties and to solve the above noted problems. To these ends, the invention provides a novel tool which facilitates the laying of conductor wire from terminal to terminal and which expedites the making of mechanically strong connections between the wire and terminals, without damage thereto.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a tool which is of simple construction and can readily be manipulated for dispensing conductor wire and anchoring the same to electrical terminals with required tension, but without undue strain. In this manner, interwiring of module components is accomplished quickly and neatly, and there is provided a wired assembly with clean rugged connections.

Wire laying and wrapping tools of the general character to which the present invention pertains have been made available. However, most of these known tools, require the use of two hands in making wired connections and, for that reason, are awkward to operate and are not Well suited to interwiring of miniaturized assemblies. A characteristic feature of the invention is that it provides a hand tool which can be heid with the fingers of one hand and thereby moved as a pen or pencil and, when so held and moved, serves to lay a continuous conductor wire in straight paths between terminals and to wrap the wire securely about each terminal in succession.

Other known wire laying and Wrapping tools have Vbeen designed for hand operation, but such known tools incorporate wire forming and twisting mechanisms which complicate the tool and are likely to get out of order, thereby rendering the tool useless. In contradistinction to this latter type of known tools, the invention is characterized by the fact that it provides a simplified wiring tool which has no so-called working parts so that mechanical malfunctions are eliminated.

In accordance with the present invention, the above mentioned objectives as well as other features and ad vantages which will appear as the description progresses, are achieved by means of a tool body which incorporates distinct sections including a linger locating section which provides for manual application of pressure on wire to Vcontrol its tension while passing from a wire storing section to a wire guiding section during manipulation to the tool to effect connections between terminals. In a speciic and preferred embodiment the tool body is adapted to be held in the manner of a pencil by the fingers of one hand, the above stated finger positioning section being ICC located intermediate the aforesaid wire storing and wire guiding sections.

The invention, and its characteristic features and advantages, will be more fully understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a hand too-l embodying the p-resent invention and illustrates the tool in use;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken generally along the central longitudinal axis of the tool shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the element which, as shown in FIGURE 2, serves to support wire in the wire storing section of the tool body;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary View, partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating the detachable tip structure of the tool shown in FIGURES 1 and 2; and

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view of the linger location section of the tool body and illustrates means associated therewith and operable for effecting wire tensioning control in response to linger pressure.

With more particular reference to the drawing, the hand tool illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 comprises an elongated body 10, preferably of metal, which includes a linger locating section 11, a wire storing section 12 and a wire guiding section Q14.

The ringer locating section is disposed at an intermediate portion of body 10 and, as shown, is provided with a recess 16 configured to accept the tip of a finger, preferably the forefinger as shown at F, the tool body being held as seen in FIGURE 1. The recess has a surface which lies generally in a plane coinciding with the central longitudinal axis of Ibody 1li and which provides a depressed substantially ilat platform I8 over which passes a portion P of conductor wire W from storing section 12. Because of this construction, wire drawn from the storing section can be tensioned to a greater or lesser extent simply by increasing or decreasing the linger pressure on wire portion P in locating section 12.

As clearly appears in FIGURE 2, wire storing section I2 constitutes one end portion of body lil which end portion is made hollow to provide an inwardly extended chamber 20. This chamber has an open end portion 21 and an inwardly disposed wall 22, the latter clos ing the bottom of the chamber except for an aperture 23. This aperture leads into the aforesaid recess 16 and is disposed in general alignment with the aforesaid platform 18 for passage of Wire portion P thereover.

The open end portion 2l of chamber Ztl is adapted to be closed by means of a removable capping element 24 which as seen in FIGURES 2 and 3 is provided with a plug 25 having a rigid handle or knob 26 at one end and a longitudinally extending stern 27 at the other end. The plug 25 ts snugly within the open end portion 21 of body section 12, and the handle or knob 26 serves to manipulate the capping element when placing the plug into and out of its snug fitting engagement with the open end portion of storage section 12, which end portion can and preferably is formed with laterally spaced slits 28 providing a springy sleeve-like structure contributing to the snug fitting of the plug. The stem 27 serves to support a :supply of conductor wire W within the aforesaid chamber 20 formed in storing section 12. For that purpose, and as shown in FIGURE 2, Wire W is wound in a coil about the stem which is of such length that its free extremity 29 lies adjacent the chamber bottom wall 22 and in close proximity to aperture 23 thereof. Thus wire can readily be let out through said aperture for passage over platform 18 and thence to guding section 14, as clearly seen in FIGURE 2.

As also clearly seen in FIGURE 2, the guiding section constitutes the remaining end portion of body 10, which end portion is bored axially to provide an internal channel 30. This channel leads from the aforesaid recess 16 and is disposed in general alignment with the platform 18 thereof so that wire travelling from storing section 12 through finger locating section 11, can pass freely into and through the aforesaid channel. However, as also shown in FIGURE 2, said internal channels 23, are formed in such a way that terminal portions 23', 30' thereof intersect the surface of platform 18, thus forming terminal edges 18', 18 on said platform and over which the wire passes on its way from storing section 12 to guiding section 14. The users finger tip F, FIGURE 1, placed on moving wire P and thus causing surface friction thereof against these edges, FIGURE 2, retards the paying out of the wire in tinely adjusted degree, as is desired in each individaul use of the tool.

The guiding section terminates with a tubular tip 32 through which the wire is finally dispensed in effecting electrical connections. This tip 32 is constructed with a shoulder 33 which abuts marginal edge 34 of wire guiding section 14, with an inner extension 35 which projects into channel 30 of that section and terminates in a funnel-shaped portion 36 for assuring each threading and smooth movement of the wire through the tip, and with an outer extension 37 which has a length and diameter allowing for unobstructed movement of the tip in laying wire between and around adjacent terminals T projecting from surface S of module or like assembly base B.

To further assure proper travelling of the wire through the tubular tip, it is desirable that the inside diameter of the tip be just large enough to accommodate the size of the wire employed to make the connections. Because wire employed for that purpose is customarily supplied in various sizes, the tip 32 is adapted for detachable connection with the body of the tool, as is illustrated in FIGURE 4. In this manner several tips having different inside diameters corresponding to wires of different size can be used interchangeably to suit the particular size of wire being employed in carrying out the interwiring of terminals. The fact that the wire dispensing tip is detachable from the tool body also has the advantage that the tip which is the only element subject to extensive wear due to frictional engagement with the travelling wire, can readily and conveniently be replaced when worn thus preserving the usefulness of the tool as such. Moreover, because the capping element 24 is removable from tool body 10, it will be understood that several such capping elements can be supplied for interchangeable use with said tool body. With these several elements available, each could be provided with Wire of a size different from that provided on reserve capping elements. Capping elements would thus be made available for selective immediate use with the tool body depending upon the wire size desired or needed in effecting terminal connections.

To use the tool, conductor wire of appropriate size is coiled about the stem 27. Sufficient wire is left unwound to extend longitudinally from extremity 29 of the stem thereby providing for threading of the Wire through aperture 23, channel 30 and tubular tip 32, when the capping element 24 is placed in engagement with wire storage section 12. The tool is ready for use When, as shown in FIGURE 2, capping elements 24 is seated in position at section 12, intermediate portion P of Wire W is exposed at the finger locating section 11, and free end portion E of the wire projects outwardly from tip 32.

The manner in which the tool is used to effect interwiring of terminals is best understood by referring to FIGURE l. As seen in this figure, the free end portion E of wire W is anchored to one terminal, for example as shown at a, so that wire is drawn out as the tool is displaced by movement of the hand holding the tool body in the manner hereinbefore mentioned. Thus tool tip extension 37 can be and is guided from one terminal to another and around the terminals whereby to lay the wire in straight paths between the terminals and to wrap the wire about each terminal to be firmly attached thereto as represented at b. The interwiring of terminals is best accomplished by manually holding the tool in a position generally perpendicular to base surface S with the tip 32 located adjacent said surface, and by continuously laying and wrapping the wire until all desired connections have been made. The wire can then be severed between the tip of the tool and the last wired terminal and, after soldering the connections, unwanted wire portions (such as those represented at c) are clipped at the soldered joints, leaving the remaining wire portions (such as those represented at d) to establish the desired terminal connections.

When holding the tool as described above and as shown in FIGURE 1, the finger of the hand which holds the tool can be moved onto and off the wire portion T to regulate the tension thereon as it is laid between and wrapped about the terminals. If desired a depressible element 3S, which, as shown in FIGURE 5, may be in the form of a spring metal strip having an end 38 secured to the surface of ltool 10, can be associated with the finger locating section 11 of the tool to overlay the wire portion P. When .such an element is employed, the finger located at recess 16 will depress the element to regulate the wire tension thus protecting the finger while the wire is travelling through the tool body.

From the foregoing description, it will be appreciated that the invention provides a tool which is of' most simple and lasting construction and which can readily be held and guided manually between and around closely adjacent electrical terminals to wire the same. While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to specific structures of such embodiments but embraces changes and variations coming within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. As a means for wiring miniature circuit units, a generally pen-shaped, pen-sized tool body having a single generally flat platform in its exposed surface, between the ends thereof, said platform being approximately as long and wide as a linger tip; Wire storing and wire guiding sections within said tool body, on opposite sides of said platform; channel means interconnecting said sections across said platform and allowing wire to be payed out over the platform into and then from the guiding section; and at least one edge on said platform, constituting an intersection of said channel means with the platform surface, the construction and arrangement of said channel means, edge and platform being such that wire payed out from the storing section into the guiding section, for said wiring, runs over said edge on said platform.

2. A tool body as set forth in claim 1, additionally including a strip having one end secured to said surface remotely from said platform and having another end extending over said platform and edge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 453,211 6/91 Rivett 145-62 X 962,218 6/ 10 Heitz-Boyer 223-104 X 1,049,361 1/13 Holmes 140-123 1,092,529 4/ 14 Horn 223-104 2,474,463 6/49 Burrell 140-123 X 2,569,780 10/51 Rogers et al 242-7 X 2,682,063 6/54 Miloche 7-l4.1

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

MILTON S. MEHR, Examiner. 

1. AS A MEANS FOR WIRING MINIATURE CIRCUIT UNITS, A GENERALLY PEN-SHAPED, PEN-SIZED TOOL BODY HAVING A SINGLE GENERALLY FLAT PLATFORM IN ITS EXPSOSED SURFACE, BETWEEN THE ENDS THEREOF, SAID PLATFORM BEING APPROXIMATELY AS LONG AND WIDE AS A FINGER TIP; WIRE STORING AND WIRE GUIDING SECTIONS WITHIN SAID TOOL BODY, ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID PLATFORM; CHANNEL MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID SECTIONS ACROSS SAID PLATFORM AND ALLOWING WIRE TO BE PAYED OUT OVER THE PLATFORM INTO AND THEN FROM THE GUIDING SECTION; AND AT LEAST ONE EDGE ON SAID PLATFORM, CONSTITUTING AN INTERSECTION OF SAID CHANNEL MEANS WITH THE PLATFORM SURFACE, THE CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT OF SAID CHANNEL MEANS, EDGE AND PLATFORM BEING SUCH THAT WIRE PAYED OUT FROM THE STORING SECTION INTO THE GUIDING SECTION, FOR SAID WIRING, RUNS OVER SAID EDGE ON SAID PLATFORM. 